Malware took a smaller bite in 2005

A year after reaching an all-time high, worldwide malware losses fell nearly 20 percent in 2005, an IT research and advisory firm said.

Computer Economics, in a January summary of its "2005 Malware Report: The Impact of Malicious Code Attacks," said that, for the first time since 2002, the financial impact of virus attacks dropped from the previous year. Losses totaled an estimated $14.2 billion in 2005, compared to $17.5 billion the prior year.

The firm said the decline was attributable to companies better securing their networks and anti-virus vendors producing more advanced software. In addition, the firm said, losses were kept down because malware authors are focusing their attacks on specific organizations rather than broader online targets. Malware took a smaller bite in 2005 - IT Security News - SC Magazine UK